Fertilizer Friday - June 4, 2010

The lilies have started unfurling and putting on their show. I have probably 500 bulbs in the beds around the house, half of which were gifts from friends. The height, elegance and colors are what make liles one of my top 5 favorite flowers to grow. The irises make up the bulk of these bulbs but my lilies and daylilies are pretty spectacular and are worth mentioning.

Above is an unnamed white Asiatic Lily that I've had for years and brought with me to my new home. The color white is such a stunner in the garden. It stands out and helps the colors around it shine. And in the evenings, light colors such as white glow and make the garden feel ethereal... which is probably why Moon Gardens are so popular. They invite you to take a stroll in the dusk, when scents seem to be stronger.

The tallest daylily in my garden so far. They were given to me by my co-worker so wanted to remove them from her vinca bed. Even though we had dug up all the daylilies there must have been parts of the roots left behind because she has more lilies popping up in her bed this year. She said these color of daylilies were called "Ditch Lilies" in the south because they often grew wild in ditches alongside the road. I love the height they offer in the gardenbeds.

Another type of "Ditch Lily" with a lighter color.

Another unnamed Asiatic Lily. This one is the tallest of my lilies, reaching close to 4 feet tall. Can't really say there's much of a scent, partly because it's in the center of the bed and I can barely reach forward to grab it. The color makes a strong statement, that's for sure. It's also the first of the lilies to bloom each year.

This little beauty was planted this spring. Home Depot gave out a buy one, get one free coupon for their spring bulbs and I picked up a mixed bag of unnamed lilies and a bag of frilly peach gladiolas. The lilies are pretty small, maybe 12-18 inches tall but hopefully will grow taller next year. Below is another lily from the same package and has a little white around the center.

Below is a fragrant daylily I purchased from Home Depot last spring. I bought two pots and divided up the lilies before planting them. They were scattered around the garden and have done really well. They are also rebloomers and get around 3 ft tall. The original tag stated it was a "Polynesian Delight Daylily" but the image on the tag, which is a pink flower, looks nothing like the one below. 

A "Darius" Daylily planted two weeks ago in a section of the side bed I'm working on expanding. It's suppose to grow to be about 22 inches tall.

The common "Stella D'Or" daylily is very hard, multiples each year and adds a nice splash of yellow around the garden. That said, it doesn't get very tall and is probably my least favorite of the daylilies.

This one might be a "Stella D'Or" too, I'm not sure. I think it came from a friend's garden. Garden gifts from friends are the best because not only are they free but they are a reminder of the person who gave them to you.

And last but not least is another unnamed Asiatic Lily from the Home Depot purchase from this spring.

Want to see more? Visit Tootsie Time to see who else is participating in "Fertilizer Friday" and showing off what's blooming in their gardens.

Wonder Wednesday

As I was wandering around the garden taking photos of what's new, I happened to come across the dill plant I had planted in the Herb Circle. This year I decide to plant numerous herbs in the small round bed I dug out last spring. Herbs are suppose to be easy to grow but yeah, I killed herbs before. Planted were Dill, Thai Basil, Curly Parsley, Italian Parsley, Genovese Basil, Catnip (for my brats), and Cilantro. Now, I'm not much of a chef, so the herbs are mainly grown for their scent and flowers. In particular, some were chosen specifically because butterflies and their caterpillers like them. I figure if I can offer the caterpillers the herbs perhaps they will stop chewing on my flowers. You should have seen the holes those suckers put in the leaves last year. However, I have to say I was stunned to see how well the caterpillers took to one plant!

I counted at about 13 caterpillars on this plant, which I am embarrassed to say I am uncertain which herb this is. This explains why I've had so many butterflies fluttering around the yard already. There seems to be three different kinds of caterpillars on the plant but perhaps they are the same kind and at different stages? Also saw some tiny black balls that might be future butterflies. Kinda cool really. The only thing is I better stop tossing bird feed near the circle in case any decide to snack on my future butterflies. I hope these are butterflies in waiting... I have yet to figure out which are good caterpillers and which are greedy pests.